The liturgical year is complicated, which means you regularly need to re-publish your Mass times…everywhere. This is important because many nominal Catholics start searching for Mass times around Christmas or Easter to help decide where they will worship during these high holy days.
It’s not just “Chreasters” who are searching for Mass times. Even your most active parishioners will check regularly to confirm they have the correct times, so they can confirm meal and travel plans. And Catholic families coming to town to visit relatives during holidays will be checking as well.
Here is a quick checklist to make sure you’re updating all the right spots:
- Publish these Mass times in every bulletin
- Schedule one post a week on each social media platform you use to highlight these Mass times
- Comb through every page of your parish website and make sure times are highlighted there
- Re-record the Mass times listed on the parish voicemail when they change, and set yourself a reminder to set them back at the appropriate time
- Include special Mass times in staff email signatures each month
- Maybe most importantly – create a Facebook event for each separate Christmas Mass, Holy Week Mass, and so on, so parishioners can indicate they are going…and then their friends will see it too!
This is the number one way to welcome back lapsed Catholics – show your parish cares by helping them find Mass times quickly!
Also, did you know there are a growing number of third-party Internet sites that advertise the Mass and confession times of every parish in North America? And do you know if your parish information is correct? Your Mass times are published elsewhere. You’ll want to make sure they are right.
Luckily, you can update your parish information on these sites yourself. Today, set up an annual reminder to go and check these top three sites. Look for any outdated information and provide updates.
While you’re at it, be sure to check in on your parish’s Facebook page and update the “About” section with your Mass and confession times. You can also publish important Mass times for holy days (Christmas, anyone?) in a post and pin that post to the top of your page for as long as that information is relevant. Your Mass time are published elsewhere – and you need to be in control of them. By doing this, you can be a good steward of your parish’s online identity and offer people the confidence they need when they are looking for a good Catholic parish to join.